 Outbreak of canine influenza in Ohio
Melanie Prarat, MS, ADDL Virology Section
Numerous cases of canine influenza virus (CIV) H3N2 have been recently confirmed in Ohio, notably in the Columbus and Toledo areas. Many
of the cases are dogs that were exposed to other dogs at boarding or day care
facilities or other public locations. Canine influenza is a highly infectious respiratory disease which can be transmitted via contact with an infected dog or aerosolized droplets. As with other infectious diseases, extra precautions
may be needed with puppies, elderly or pregnant dogs, and dogs that are
immunocompromised. Symptoms of canine influenza include loss of appetite, nasal discharge, lethargy, and fever. Vaccines for the H3N2 and H3N8 strains of canine influenza are available. The ADDL offers a real-time CIV PCR assay with a 24 hour turn around time for the detection of the virus in dogs. Appropriate sample types include nasal and/or nasopharyngeal swabs immersed in 1-2 ml BHI broth or saline, 1-2 mL tracheal wash or fresh tissue (trachea, lung). Samples should be collected, shipped and tested within the first four days of clinical signs (Our website has additional information about sample collection). The test fee is $30.00 per sample. For more information please contact the Virology Laboratory at 614-728-6220 or Virology@agri.ohio.gov.
Canine influenza is not considered to be zoonotic and is not reportable in Ohio. Cornell University maintains a map of the Canine Influenza Surveillance Network H3N2 activity nationally from the past 45 days.
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 ADDL pathologists assist OSU with backyard poultry medicine workshops
Jeff Hayes, MS, DVM, ADDL Pathology Section Head
Drs. Craig Sarver and
Jeff Hayes at the ADDL partnered with Dr. Mohammed El-Gazzar, Poultry Extension
Veterinarian at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in the
second annual Backyard Poultry Medicine workshops conducted October
3-5, 2017 in Wooster, Reynoldsburg and Dayton, Ohio. Drs. Sarver and Hayes
provided one hour seminars on diagnostic services available at the ADDL for
poultry cases.Images of common disease conditions in chickens,
turkeys, quail and other poultry were shared. ADDL pathologists also assisted with wet lab sessions for
practitioners to help them gain skills in antemortem sampling and in performing chicken
necropsies. The ADDL is glad to provide practitioners with diagnostic support to
investigate causes of backyard poultry illness and mortality. The Ohio Department of Agriculture regards backyard
poultry disease investigations as a critical component of surveillance for
avian influenza virus infection. Call 614-728-6220 for more information.
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Pathology Case Report: Blackleg in a 3 month old beef crossbred heifer calf
Jeff Hayes, MS, DVM, ADDL Pathology Section Head
A 2-3 month old beef
crossbred heifer calf was found acutely dead the morning of Sunday, 10/15/2017
after showing no premonitory signs of illness. This was the third calf to die
at that premise in the past 2-3 weeks. The second calf which died in the previous week was found down
and was reluctant to rise one day, and was found acutely dead the next day.
Necropsy showed antemortem necrosis of skeletal muscle tissue limited to a
multifocal and coalescing pattern in the dorsal aspect of the left shoulder
region – muscle fibers were dark red to black, dry and contained entrapped gas. There was abundant entrapped gas in the overlying subcutaneous tissue
(subcutaneous emphysema) that was palpable by external examination. The
affected muscle tissue had a prominent butyric acid / rancid odor.
Immunofluorescence testing of the affected muscle tissue demonstrated large
numbers of Clostridium chauveoi bacilli, confirming a diagnosis of
clostridial myositis, or blackleg. The veterinarian was notified of these
results the same day the calf was submitted for examination. In Ohio, blackleg
seems to have notable consistent features including seasonality (late summer
and early fall), geography (southeastern Ohio primarily), epidemiology (young
calves on pasture with dams), and clinical presentation (acute death with or
without a history of lameness / reluctance to move). Often multiple calves are
affected before one is submitted for necropsy examination.
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 Staff represents ADDL at 60th Annual AAVLD Meeting
Melanie Prarat, MS, ADDL Virology Section
Drs. Bev Byrum, Jing Cui, and Yan Zhang, as well as Melanie Prarat, represented the ADDL at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians in San Diego, California from October 12-16. The following presentations were made by ADDL during the meeting:
- Using the QIAxcel Advanced for genotyping of Clostridium perfringens (Melanie Prarat, recipient of an AAVLD Staff Travel Award)
- Detection and characterization of a canine distemper outbreak in Ohio, 2016 (M. Prarat, J Hayes, J Cui, C McKee, B. Byrum, Y. Zhang)
- A multiplex RT-PCR approach for identification of swine respiratory pathogen targets (M. Prarat, J. Van Balen, J. Cui, B. Byrum, Y. Zhang)
- Phenotypic analysis of Brucella canis isolates from Ohio (L. Wang, M, Weisner, J. Cui, Y. Zhang)
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 The ADDL will be CLOSED on November 10 (Veteran's Day) and November 23 (Thanksgiving). If you need to contact us regarding an urgent matter, please use our after hours phone number: (888) 456-3405
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